NFL Draft Report

Don't be surprised if Bills pick corner at 10

Almost every mock draft you see has the Buffalo Bills taking either a left tackle or wide receiver with the tenth overall pick.

If there's anything I can say about what might happen with the 2012 NFL Draft for the Bills, it's this: Don't rule out one position in particular just yet.

Cozy up with the idea that the Bills' pick has as good of a chance of being a top flight cornerback as it does of being an offensive tackle. While Riley Reiff and Cordy Glenn are options for the selection, both come with mysteries to their game.

In the case of Reiff, his short arms and some of his weaknesses on tape have some concluding that he's a better fit to play right tackle or to kick inside to guard. It's a similar problem to former Iowa tackle Bryan Bulaga, who fell on draft day and is now a right tackle for the Green Bay Packers.

As for Glenn, his size and arm length are great, but some feel the lack of starting experience at left tackle make him better suited for either right tackle or as a guard.

It seems like no matter which offensive tackle past Matt Kalil you bring up, there is a legitimate ding on his profile that makes you wonder if any are the answer for the blind side.

As for a wide receiver, unless Justin Blackmon falls to tenth overall, you can see the Bills pointing to the depth of the position as to why they waited on taking one.

If the Bills don't trade out of the tenth overall pick, I think taking a cornerback there makes a lot of sense -- considering who is out there.

With Drayton Florence likely on his last contract in Buffalo, Terrence McGee on his last legs and Leodis McKelvin on his way out the door at the end of this season, a very large need exists at the position.

Of course the Bills hope Aaron Williams takes one of the starting roles this season and for a long time to come, but adding another fresh face to the group could do them wonders.

Two names come to mind for who might be available at 10: Alabama's Dre Kirkpatrick and South Carolina's Stephon Gilmore.

Both players have the type of size that you'd want out of a cornerback, and both possess a very good physicality to their game. We'll start with Gilmore first.

Gilmore has risen up draft boards so much so that he's in play for the seventh overall pick. At 6-feet, 190-pounds, Gilmore blazed his way to a 4.40 forty-yard dash. That timed speed is evident on the field.

If he loses his man on a play, he has the recovery speed to go back and make a play on the ball. He also has the penchant for making a big hit in the open field -- sometimes to his detriment -- but will land some crushing shots as well.

As for Kirkpatrick, he's a long-time starter for one of the best defenses in the country. He's nearly 6-foot-2, 186 pounds and ran a respectable 4.51 forty-yard dash.

Kirkpatrick has been a steady first round lock since the college football season started this year. Once thought of as in-the-discussion for the top cornerback available with LSU's Morris Claiborne, Kirkpatrick has since fallen back only slightly.

He's a well accomplished zone-corner that is very good at putting a jam on receivers at the line of scrimmage.

In terms of who fits the Bills better if both were on the board, I'd have to give the edge to Kirkpatrick. Wannstedt will be running a zone look this year, and the Alabama corner has shown great instincts and recognition in that scheme.

Also, there's talk that Gilmore might not even be available by the time the Bills were to pick, so that obviously would render the conversation moot. However, both players have visited team facilities at One Bills Drive.

The type of value the Bills would get out of a first round cornerback, if they were to stay at tenth overall, would likely outweigh the return they'd get on one of the higher up offensive tackle prospects.

All of these factors feed in to my belief that cornerback is right there in the conversation for the Bills at 10.